[lit-ideas] America's Greatest Word

From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx

To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2010 16:59:33 EDT

From amazon.
JLS
----
"Metcalf has produced a complete and completely entertaining history of the
most American of all expressions. More than 'just OK' -- revelatory and
engrossing."--Erin McKean, CEO of wordnik.com, author of Weird and Wonderful
Words, More Weird and Wonderful Words, and former Editor-in-Chief, Oxford
American Dictionaries
It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet,
more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever-present beverage
Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is "OK"-- the most
ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times
every day. Yet few of us know the secret history of OK--how it was coined,
what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence.
Allan Metcalf, a renowned popular writer on language, here traces the
evolution of America's most popular word, writing with brevity and wit, and
ranging across American history with colorful portraits of the nooks and
crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He describes how OK was born as a
lame joke in a newspaper article in 1839--used as a supposedly humorous
abbreviation for "oll korrect" (ie, "all correct")--but should have died a
quick
death, as most clever coinages do. But OK was swept along in a
nineteenth-century fad for abbreviations, was appropriated by a presidential
campaign
(one of the candidates being called "Old Kinderhook"), and finally was
picked up by operators of the telegraph. Over the next century and a half, it
established a firm toehold in the American lexicon, and eventually became
embedded in pop culture, from the "I'm OK, You're OK" of 1970's transactional
analysis, to Ned Flanders' absurd "Okeley Dokeley!" Indeed, OK became
emblematic of a uniquely American attitude, and is one of our most successful
global exports.
Anyone who loves the life of words or the quirky corners of American
culture will find this delightful book more than just OK.
About the Author
Allan Metcalf is Professor of English at MacMurray College and Executive
Secretary of the American Dialect Society. He is the author of many books,
including most recently Writing to the Point:, Sixth Edition (2008).
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html